The invention relates to the game of golf, and particular, to a set of golf clubs in which all of the irons, as well as the woods, can be played with generally the same swing to hit the ball reliably yet with a range of distance equal to or greater than a conventional set of clubs.
Golf is becoming an even more popular sport and is being played by an increasing number of persons. It is estimated that there is now 23,000,000 golfers. However, ninety percent of the golfers shoot 85 and more, 7 percent of the golfers shoot between 82 and 85, 3 percent of the golfers shoot 82 and below, and only 0.01 percent of the golfers shoot even par at 72. This raises the question of why only 3 percent of the golfers are able to consistently shoot below 82, and the fact that over 20 million golfers have a lot of room for improvement. One reason that only a few have been able to master the game is that the instructions received by the golfer may not best fit the golfer's style. It has been said that 6 different professional golfers would teach the game 6 different ways. Those who do play golf correctly cannot easily teach what they do to someone else. This is either because they do not know what they do or they cannot relate it to a student. The average golfer is prone to accept advise from a wide number of people with whom they play and golf becomes a trial and error game.
Another reason that instruction, advice, and practice have not been effective is that the conventional set of golf clubs basically has 13 different lengths, weights and sizes. Golf has been played almost 500 years with the golf clubs in a set being all different in shaft length, head weight, total weight, and lie. Each club has always required a different swing, and adding to the complexity of the game is that many instructors advocate a slightly different positioning of the ball relative to the feet for each different club. Thus, to master the game with the conventional set of clubs requires that the golfer develop 13 different swings, one for each club in the bag. Some instructors teach the idea of making a similar swing with every club. However, this is virtually impossible since all clubs differ in length, weight, and lie angle. When practicing a given iron at a practice range, it is quite common for the golfer to hit the ball well because of repeating the same swinging with the given iron. However, once he gets on the course and begins swinging differently for all of the clubs so the golfer loses the touch he had for making the good shots with the given iron.
In the conventional set of golf clubs, the clubs are matched which means that the woods and irons are of a specific swing weight, the shaft lengths are graduated, and there is a uniformity in the flexibility of the shafts. Graduated lengths of the clubs generally requires that the total weight to the clubs vary in order to obtain the equal swing weights. The effect of different shaft lengths and weights of the clubs is that a number of different muscle and body controls is needed in order for the player to learn to hit the different clubs in a consistent, effective manner.
In order to hit the golf ball with accuracy, the golf club head must be moved in a controlled arc that will bring it against the ball at the most effective striking angle with a velocity related to the distance the ball is to travel. The golf swing motion is so intricate that the greater part of the golfer's training is normally in swing control. However, if each club has a different shaft length, the plain of the arc swing will be different for each club. This means that the golfer must develop a different and body control discipline for each club, or 14 muscle and body control modes for a complete set of golf clubs.
The idea of a set of clubs in which all the clubs may be played with a consistent repeated swing has been around for a long time. The idea is based upon the premise that even an average golfer makes at least one shot in each round which is better than any professional golfer would have made from the same lie. The essential difference between professional and amateur golfers in making the good shot is repeating the swing time after time with very little margin of error. The professional does this because of the amounts of time spent in practicing the swings which the amateur is not able to do. Thus, it has been proposed to provide a set of golf clubs which can be played without a lot of variation in the swing of the clubs so that the average golfer may play more consistently. Only 1 repeating golf swing need be mastered and this swing is practiced any time any iron in the bag is shot. The longer you play the clubs, the more benefit you will receive by getting 9 times more practice on the individual repeated swings. Theoretically, one only needs take 1 iron to the practice range because they are all swung exactly alike.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,103 discloses a matched golf club set in which the irons, as well as the woods, have equal shaft length, equal lie angle, equal swing weight, and equal total weight. This set of clubs is said to provide a more consistent swing in accordance with the above objectives. However, the distance a ball is hit is generally determined by the club head weight and speed. Because the longer irons are shortened, the ability to hit the ball as far as conventional clubs is questionable, particularly for the driver and the longer irons. Since the only variations in the set of irons is the loft angle, the ability of the set of clubs to produce a range of distance comparable to a conventional set of clubs is highly speculative.
In a conventional set of golf clubs, all the irons, as well as woods, have a matched swing weight. Swing weight and total weight are two club fitting variables that interrelate and are best determined for a proper fit when they are analyzed along with a number of other golf club variables. Swing weight is the measurement of the golf club weight distribution (grip, shaft, and head) about a fulcrum point which is established at a specified distance from the grip end of the club. Several different standards exist for measuring this swing weight. The most common are the official swing weight which uses a 12 inch fulcrum distance and the lorythmic swing weight which uses a 14 inch fulcrum distance. In the conventional set of clubs, the clubs are designed so that the swing weight is the same for each club. In order to keep the swing weight the same for each club, the total weight of each club is different as dictated by the different shaft lengths and head weights of the clubs. The validity of matched swing weights has often been questioned. However, matched swing weights have been accepted in the market and generally connote a higher quality to the consumer. Thus, for a constant swing weight, the total weight will be determined by the individual's component selection and the club's length. In order for a set of clubs to have the same swing weight, as each club gets shorter, more weight must be added to the head to maintain the swing weight for club balance. Since the individual components such as grips and shafts vary in weight due to normal manufacturing tolerances, and also the fact that so many different types and styles are available, it is hard to control the exact incremental difference in total weight between clubs. As a rule of thumb, their difference is approximately 3/16 to 1/4 ounce decrease in total weight as each succeeding club is longer by 1/2 inch. Table I (Prior Art) shows a list of conventional clubs.
Total weight alone has no effect on swing weight. How a golf club's total weight is distributed determines the balance of that club and its swing weight. For example, the weight of a 13 ounce driver must be increased 3/4 ounce without changing its swing weight simply by adding 1/2 ounce weight in the grip and 1/4 ounce in the head of the club. This is called counter balancing. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,658,447; 1,696,462; 1,210,182; and 4,461,479 disclose various methods for adding weight to the grip of a golf club in order to balance the club.
Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a set of golf clubs which may be played with a constant swing yet provide a range of distances comparable or greater than a conventional set of clubs.
Another object of the invention is to provide a set of golf clubs which may be played with a common address to the ball and consistent repeated swing, yet which are designed for different club head speeds for a wide range of distances.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a matched set of golf clubs which can be played with a consistent repeated swing for the woods and irons wherein at least the iron set includes a plurality of subsets each having a common, constant swing with each other, but variations in other club characteristics, similar to a conventional golf club set.